As
huge blocks of the earth's crust, known as plates, scrape slowly past
each other at a rate of about two inches a year, tremendous force is
built up along its deep underground branches, which we call faults.
Periodically, something slips, releasing some of that energy in the form
of an earthquake. In California the block called the Pacific plate is
moving northwest, scraping horizontally past the plate dubbed the North
America.

Bonny Doon is bounded on three sides by major faults, at least one of
which is active. In addition, the San Andreas fault is about 10 miles
away. It produced a Magnitude 8 (M8) earthquake in 1906, a Magnitude 7
(M7) in 1989, and has one segment capable of another M7 anytime, says
Bonny Dooner Allan Lindh, a seismologist (scientist who studies
earthquakes), who will talk about local earthquakes and faults in a
presentation at the Sept. 14 RBDA meeting entitled “Seismicity and
Faulting in and Adjacent to Monterey Bay.”

Dr. Lindh studied geology and physics at UCSC, and then earned
a doctorate in Geophysics from Stanford University. He worked for 30 years at
the US Geological Survey, a large fraction of the time trying to predict
earthquakes. He says, “I did not succeed, but we learned a few important
things along the way.”
According to Dr. Lindh, the good news is that almost all of
Bonny Doon is underlain by hard rock, and people who live in well-built homes,
in which they have taken reasonable precautions, should come through the next
M7 just fine.
Nevertheless, this should be a fascinating evening and a great
opportunity to get your questions about local earthquakes and geology answered.

Update
from Supervisor Ryan Coonerty

As your 3rd District County Supervisor, I appreciate the
opportunity to contribute to the RBDA newsletter. Here is a short briefing
on some of the issues we have worked on in the past six months.

One of the most important issues in decades affecting not just
Bonny Doon, but the whole County, is the commercial cultivation of cannabis.
This past August, after several months of work by the Cannabis Cultivation
Choices Committee (C4), County staff,
and many engaged community members, the Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a
cannabis cultivation ordinance.

One of my main policy objectives for the cultivation ordinance
was to severely limit commercial cannabis cultivation in Bonny Doon and in all
rural residential areas of the County. As soon as I was elected to serve as
your Supervisor, I heard loud and clear from the Bonny Doon community that
commercial cannabis cultivation was causing major problems in the community
from smell, to generator noise, to water consumption, land speculation and many
other negative impacts.

When the ordinance came to the Board, I advocated that there be
a carve-out for the Coastal Zone, plus one mile inland, where cannabis could
only be grown on Agriculturally (A) zoned parcels over 10 acres. Though
there were concerns from other Supervisors and of course the cultivators, the
Board ultimately agreed to the Coastal Zone carve-out. This will protect
almost all of Bonny Doon from the impacts of large-scale commercial cannabis
cultivation.

The Board also banned generators as the sole source of power
for cultivators, and mandated that there must be an on-site water source to prevent
growers from using trucked-in water. In the end, I was pleased with the result
of the cultivation ordinance that we passed. The ordinance now must go through
environmental review before taking effect.

I want to acknowledge the Bonny Dooners who came out to Board
meetings and C4 meetings to make sure that neighborhood concerns stayed in the
forefront of the discussion. I want to especially acknowledge my representative
to the C4, Eric Hoffman, who spent hundreds of hours contributing valuable
input into the process, oftentimes as the lone voice on the C4 for protecting
rural neighborhoods. I have no doubt that our collective efforts resulted in an
ordinance that put neighborhoods, families, and the environment ahead of the
cultivation industry.

In addition to working on policy like cannabis cultivation, my
office also communicates with constituents on a daily basis to address many
quality of life and safety issues affecting Bonny Doon. For example, in the
last six months we have worked with the County’s Public Works Department to
fill potholes on Empire Grade north of Cave Gulch, and to investigate whether a
steel plate was sinking on Smith Grade Road. We had crews trim a tree leaning dangerously
over Bonny Doon Road, and most recently we asked Public Works staff to
re-stripe the centerline along Smith Grade (restriping Smith Grade was actually
taken from a suggestion off of the Bonny Doon “Slice” Facebook page, which I
read regularly).

My office also investigated piles of cut vegetation left on the
side of Bonny Doon Road (by Comcast) and compelled them to clean it up. We were
able to get radar speed feedback
signs installed on Pine Flat Road to
help reduce speeding around the school, and I am currently working with the
Bonny Doon CERT Team and CalFire to look at how we can make more community
members eligible to participate in the County’s Emergency Medical Response (EMR)
program.

All of these issues were initially brought to us by Bonny
Dooners. My staff and I not only welcome your suggestions and feedback, we rely
on your eyes and ears to help us better serve you. So please continue to call (454-2200)
and email (Ryan.Coonerty@santacruzcounty.us)
my office—my staff and I are here to help!

Marijuana
Measures on November Ballot

Besides deciding among presidential candidates Hillary Clinton
and Donald Trump, or even Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, voters will have some
major decisions to make as they mark their ballots Nov. 8. Californians will
again be asked to approve the recreational use of marijuana by adults. Medical
or recreational marijuana use will also be on the ballot in at least eight other
states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada and
North Dakota.

Residents of Santa Cruz County, and the cities of Santa Cruz
and Watsonville, will also be asked to approve measures to tax medical
marijuana sales. The County plans to use the money to help fund registration
and licensing of medical marijuana growers and purveyors, and enforce a new
ordinance controlling the medical marijuana business. The ordinance was passed
in June but won’t go into effect until an environmental review is completed and
approved. Meanwhile, the registration process for growers has begun. (For details, see the July 2016 Highlander,
and Supervisor Ryan Coonerty’s letter above.)

The California recreational use initiative, designated Proposition
64, is backed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. At a Santa Cruz County Medical Society
meeting July 13 Newsom called it the “most comprehensive legalization
initiative to be placed in front of voters.” He said its provisions cover 64
pages in the voter information pamphlet we will receive in October. It puts the
State in charge of regulating marijuana, and imposes taxes on retail sales
while also allowing local regulation and taxation.

Newsom called the war on drugs expensive and “an abject
failure” that especially negatively impacts young adults and people of color, who
often, because of lack of money, agree to plead guilty. Thus they wind up with
a record that makes it difficult to get a legitimate job. This blights lives
and results in the government spending more money on re-entry services and job
training.

Newsom said some of the benefits of Prop. 64 are that the money
raised through taxation of what is now a multi-billion dollar black market
industry will be divided among research, youth programs and drug treatment (60%),
law enforcement (20%) and environmental protection (20%). Newsom estimates as
much as $1 billion could be raised through taxation.

While Prop. 64 will create a detailed process and system of
regulation, Newsom said that it allows for, and he expects it to be, modified
as time goes by. He also forecast that the black market industry in California
will continue as long as there are places in the U.S. where marijuana continues
to be illegal. Nevertheless, he predicted that legalization in California will
cut drug cartels’ revenues by 60%.

If the initiative passes possession of marijuana would become
an infraction, a petty crime typically punishable by a fine, rather than jail
time.

Many people who favor recreational use decriminalization worry
that the industry will be taken over by large corporate entities. To deter
that, Newsom said, Prop. 64 gives existing businesses a five-year head start.

Under Prop. 64 state agencies will license and regulate the industry.
There will be an excise tax on retail sales of marijuana equal to 15% of the sales
price and a cultivation tax of $9.25 per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce
of leaves. Medical marijuana would be exempt, but local jurisdictions can
impose their own taxes on it, as Santa Cruz wants to do (see above), as well as on recreational pot. There will be packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing
standards and restrictions and marketing and advertising to minors will be prohibited.
People convicted of marijuana related crimes could have their sentences reduced
or eliminated and records for prior marijuana convictions will be destroyed.

Local jurisdictions will also be able to impose their own
regulations on marijuana sales, distribution, etc.

What Is the RBDA?

The RBDA is almost 60
years old. It was founded in 1957 when it was recognized that Bonny
Doon is a very special place blessed by nature and geography, one too
precious to let be despoiled by heavy development on small lots, trailer
parks and shopping centers. The visionary founders of the RBDA pressed
the County to create a zoning plan that ensured that no more properties
would be cut up for that kind of development. This was the first General
Plan adopted by the County, and led to similar plans to guide smart
growth throughout the unincorporated areas.

Those founders also
understood that Bonny Doon needed an organization to press for adequate
public services: mail, telephone, roads, law enforcement etc. Without a
strong united voice, our small population wouldn’t have had, and won’t
have, much clout at the County building.

Below are some of the
developments that over the years were prevented by the RBDA (some, of
course, in alliance with other concerned groups and individuals), with
the result that Bonny Doon today is one of the most desirable and
unspoiled areas of the County:

• A golf course and retirement housing development in what today is
the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve;
• A trailer park at the intersection of Pine Flat and Martin Roads;
• A nuclear plant in Davenport, with huge power lines running up into
and across Bonny Doon;
• An RV Park in Wilder Ranch State Park;
• Houses and periodic timber harvests on what is now instead the Gray Whale
section of Wilder Ranch State Park;
• An event center in Redwood Meadows near the intersection of Smith Grade
and Bonny Doon Road, hosting weddings of up to 250 people weekly
throughout the summer;
• A “pharm” on grazing land on Back Ranch Road with thousands of biologically
altered goats, whose waste was allowed to course through the Coast Road
neighborhood into the ocean;
• Old tires being burned for fuel at the (now-shuttered) Davenport cement
plant, polluting the air;
• High-volume Santa Cruz City wells along the coast, draining Bonny Doon
streams and aquifers;
• Bonny Doon’s population double or triple what it is today.

Though the County’s
wholesale overhaul of zoning ordinances and building codes is still
looming, as is the expansion of UCSC into Cave Gulch, most of the
biggest land use and development battles are now (thankfully) behind us.

While informing Bonny Dooners about and speaking out against
developments that would negatively impact the quality of life in our
community and neighborhoods remains one of the RBDA’s prime focuses, we
also continue to fight for better services, such as:

A strong Bonny Doon
voice is of critical importance for us to be heard at the County
building. As the historic organization fighting for Bonny Doon, the RBDA
is the best vehicle for that. For us to be successful, your membership
and support is vital. Become a member, volunteer for the RBDA Board,
come to our meetings, and help us with your ideas, suggestions and
letters, so that Bonny Doon continues to be the very special place it
is.

The RBDA Needs Your Help

The
RBDA Board is currently under-staffed by two members, which makes it
hard to do all we need and want to do. If you have ever considered
pitching in to help your community, now would be a great time to step
up.

Membership in the
organization is also lagging, though we believe this is likely an
oversight on the part of some of our loyal members. A couple of years
ago the Board opted to change the membership signup requirements and we
have not been sending out snail-mail reminders to folks like we used to.
All memberships now come due at the end of January every year, and we
notify everyone it’s time to sign up again in the January Highlander.
Without those mailed reminders many people who have been members for
years have not renewed.

This affects our
treasury as well. A “normal” year of expenses runs about $3,000, most of
it for printing and mailing The Highlander. The rest is split between
rental of the school room and required liability insurance for our
meetings there, plus the cost of keeping our webpage on the Internet and
our P.O. Box. Our intake from dues, donations and sponsorships last
year fell short of this amount by a few hundred dollars, and we had some
one-time extraordinary expenses associated with the completion of the
organization’s incorporation, which amounted to about $1,500.

So, we need your help!
If you haven’t already for 2016, renew your membership. The RBDA Board
needs two more members, especially if you have skills in the areas of
Facebook and other social media communication, newsletter editing and
design (desktop publishing). If you have skills in those areas and share
the RBDA’s mission of low-impact land use development and improving
public services, please contact us at board@rbda.us to talk over what being a board member involves.

Bus Service Cut

On Sepember. 8, the Santa Cruz Metro will be reducing Bonny Doon bus service because of budget shortfalls.

Cayla Hill, Administrative Specialist for Metro’s Planning Dept., says
that the bus service provider “…is going through difficult financial
times and has been working to address a fiscal structural deficit in our
budget over the last couple of years, meaning that our expenses are
greater than our revenues. We are doing the best we can to provide
as much service as possible for our riders while making sure that we
can continue to sustain a viable service in the long term.”

Overall, the Metro has undergone a restructuring of its entire network
of fixed-route bus service, reducing it by approximately 10%, says Hill,
adding that, “Although we are disappointed that we had to reduce
service, this outcome is much better than the projected 30% reduction
being considered only a year ago.”

For Dooners this means that Route 41 bus weekend service will be
eliminated, as will the weekday 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. trips, leaving
only the weekday 5:50 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. trips operating.

The discontinued trips will be replaced by service on the Route 42
Davenport/Bonny Doon Route, with weekday 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. trips.
On weekends an 8:30 a.m. trip will be added, and the 6:00 p.m. trip
will be moved to a 4:30 p.m. departure.

For more information or to make comments, contact Cayla Hill at chill@scmtd.com or (831) 420-2581 ext. 1313.

Bonny Doon's
voice in preserving our special quality of
life,
The Highlander is mailed free to Bonny Doon
residents prior to the
RBDA General Meetings, which are usually
held on second Wednesdays of
January, March, May, July, September and
November.
We encourage you to participate.

Send
mail correspondence to the Highlander Editor
at the above address,
or by email, below.

Support the RBDA - Renew Your Membership: all
1-year memberships expire on January 31st.
Your continued support enables the RBDA Board to work on issues critical
to Bonny Doon, to hold meetings to educate and get feedback regarding
those issues, and to publish The Highlander newsletter.
Some people may not understand that receiving The Highlander in the mail
doesn’t mean you are a current RBDA member. To reach the whole
community we mail The Highlander to all mailboxes in Bonny Doon.
So unless you joined for multiple years, all 1-year RBDA memberships
will expire on Jan. 31, 2016. To continue to support the RBDA, we need
you to renew now for the 2016 year. Details are here.
Dues and donations go mainly to printing and mailing The Highlander, and
rent and insurance for the public meetings at the school.

Ideas
for RBDA Meeting Topics?

We are always open to suggestions for interesting
programs and speakers at our bimonthly (except July)
RBDA public meetings.

What are you interested in? Local flora and fauna,
gardening, environmental and political issues, Bonny
Doon history or geology, public safety?

What were some of your favorite speakers or
presentations at past RBDA meetings?